From Sample to Insight: Technologies Driving the Future of Precision Oncology Assays
targeted therapies based on actionable muta- tions, improving treatment effectiveness and minimizing unnecessary toxicity. • Monitoring Treatment Response Real-time tools like ctDNA assays provide early insights into how a patient is responding to treatment allowing clinicians to adjust therapies faster than traditional imaging would indicate. • Recurrence Surveillance & Long-Term Management Minimal residual disease (MRD) testing is reshaping post-treatment care by detecting recurrence at the molecular level, often before clinical symptoms emerge. This enables earlier intervention and supports personalized long- term management plans. While the cancer care continuum is a useful framework, it oversimplifies the complexity of clinical practice. 8 Advances in biology have shown that the stages of care are not always distinct— many tools serve multiple roles. For example, colonoscopy functions both as a screening test and a preventive intervention when polyps are removed. Germline testing may begin as a risk assessment tool but also informs treatment decisions and guides family screening. Similarly, ctDNA assays can support early detection, treatment monitoring, and recurrence surveillance, while BRCA1/2 mutations influence prevention, therapy selection, and eligibility for targeted therapies. Recognizing these overlaps is essential to designing more responsive and integrated care models. As diagnostics become increasingly multi-
faceted, they must be embedded seamlessly into clinical workflows—not as isolated checkpoints, but as interconnected tools that inform decisions throughout the patient’s journey. Rather than viewing each phase of care as a rigid category, the cancer care continuum should be seen as a dynamic, cyclical process. Patients may move between remission, recurrence, surveillance, and active treatment depending on disease progression. Diagnostic tools must be adapt- able, enabling clinicians to respond in real time to shifting patient needs, emerging molecular insights, and evolving therapeutic options. Improving this model means: • Embedding molecular testing earlier in the pathway, even before a cancer diagnosis, to identify risk and guide prevention 4 • Using biomarker testing to monitor changes over time and support personalized, ongoing decision-making 9
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